"I have been privileged to be the principal tubist with BrSO for the past 2 years and it was an honor to write them a brass fanfare to commemorate their 70th season.
It is rare for smaller orchestras to have thrived as well as this orchestra has, and it is very exciting to write new music for a group like this one. I wanted to
write something that was fast and uplifting. I have been very recently inspired by the music of Bernard Herrmann, the famous American film composer (Citizen Kane,
Psycho, Taxi Driver, Vertigo) and how his musical ideas are presented in various different ways, all similar and yet all unique. Ignite quickly weaves its way in
and around several different themes, all loosely presented in the beginning. Some ideas appear only as fragments. As the piece progresses the ideas are spun out,
each growing and expanding. Each theme merges with each other before the tempo slows into the maestoso finale. Ignite was completed in December 2017."

David Vess, composer

David Vess is a New England-based composer, conductor, and tubist. He was recently awarded the 2016 Roger Sessions Memorial Composition Award and was the
winner of the 2014 Sinfonietta Composition Competition, both at the Boston Conservatory. He holds a Professional Studies Certificate and a Master of Music in
Composition from the Boston Conservatory, along with a Bachelor in Tuba Performance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Vess' music has been performed in the US, Canada, Italy and Japan by ensembles such as the Shiki Duo, violinist Sharan Leventhal, cellist Kevin MacFarland, Boston Musica Viva,
the Ludovico Ensemble, IKTUS, and the International Contemporary Ensemble. His music has been performed at international music festivals such as Fresh Inc Festival,
the Cortona Sessions, New Music on the Point, Le Domaine Forget, Wintergreen Performing Arts, and Charlotte New Music Festival. David currently teaches tuba at
Bridgewater State University, and served as the Artistic Director of Chimera Concert Series for their inaugural 2016-17 season. David is the composer-in-residence
of J4MN, a Boston-based clarinet quartet, with whom he is planning the release of a CD of all new clarinet music.

David performs frequently as a tubist across
New England, having played with various orchestras, wind and brass ensembles, and Dixieland jazz groups. He serves as the principal tubist of the Brockton
Symphony Orchestra as well as the Brookline Symphony Orchestra. Vess has also conducted the premieres of many composer's in the Boston area and recently
guest conducted the Boston Conservatory Contemporary Ensemble in a concert of seven world premieres.

A native of Asheville, North Carolina, David serves
as the Assistant Performance Librarian at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, along with working at the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. When not doing
something music-related, David enjoys learning about the Alexander Technique and reading David Mitchell. For more information on upcoming performances,
please visit www.DavidVessMusic.com.